Served With Divorce Papers in Georgia? Here's What to Do in the Next 30 Days

When you were served, you received a Complaint for Divorce and a Summons.

The Complaint is the legal document your spouse filed with the Superior Court to initiate the divorce. It states the grounds for divorce (usually “irreconcilable differences”) and may include specific requests on custody, property, support, and debt.

The Summons is the court’s formal notice to you that a case has been filed and that you must respond.

Read the Complaint carefully. It tells you what your spouse is asking for. Those requests are not automatic. They are opening positions that you have the right to contest.

If your spouse’s attorney drafted the Complaint, it was written to protect your spouse’s interests, not yours. The language around property, custody, and support reflects what your spouse wants. Your Answer is your opportunity to put your position on record.

Questions about the papers you were served? Call (470) 560-7798. We will review the documents with you and explain what each section is asking for.

Being the Respondent does not mean accepting what your spouse asked for. You have full rights to contest every issue in the divorce. The Complaint is a request, not a ruling.

Custody and parenting time. If your spouse proposed a custody arrangement you disagree with, you can propose your own. Georgia courts decide custody based on the best interests of the child. Neither parent has a presumptive advantage. The Respondent has the same standing as the Petitioner to seek primary physical custody, joint custody, or a specific parenting time schedule. The fact that your spouse filed first has no bearing on who gets custody.

Property division. Georgia follows equitable distribution. “Equitable” means fair under the circumstances, not necessarily equal. Your spouse’s proposed property division is a starting position. You have the right to challenge how assets are classified (marital vs. separate), challenge valuations, and propose a different distribution. A home, business, retirement account, or investment portfolio is not going to your spouse just because they asked for it in the Complaint.

Alimony. If your spouse requested alimony, you have the right to contest the amount, duration, and whether it is warranted at all. Georgia alimony is discretionary, and multiple factors govern it: length of the marriage, standard of living, each spouse’s earning capacity, and conduct during the marriage.

Child support. If children are involved, child support will be calculated using Georgia’s income-shares model based on both parents’ incomes. The calculation can be contested if your spouse misstates income, omits adjustments, or proposes deviations that do not apply.

Debt allocation. How marital debt is divided is contested the same way assets are. You have the right to challenge which debts are marital, how they should be allocated, and whether your spouse’s proposal is equitable.

Georgia is a no-fault divorce state. Your spouse can obtain a divorce even if you do not want one, even if you believe the marriage can be saved, and even if you refuse to participate. You can contest every financial and custody issue. You cannot permanently prevent the divorce itself.

What you can do is make sure that if a divorce happens, it happens on terms that protect your rights and your children. That requires participating in the process, filing your Answer, and engaging with representation.

Do not move out of the marital home without speaking to an attorney first. Leaving can affect property rights and custody positions in ways that are difficult to reverse.

Do not make major financial transactions, close joint accounts, remove funds, or transfer assets after being served. These actions raise red flags with courts and can result in emergency restraining orders against you.

Do not communicate with your spouse’s attorney directly. Once an attorney has filed a Complaint on behalf of your spouse, that attorney represents your spouse’s interests, not yours. Anything you say to opposing counsel can be used in the proceedings. Route all communications through your own attorney.

Ready to talk through your specific situation? Call (470) 560-7798. We walk you through exactly what to do and what to avoid in your first 72 hours as a Respondent.

Step 1: Retain an attorney and file your Answer. In an Answer, you admit or deny each allegation in the Complaint, assert any counterclaims you have, and state your position on the contested issues. Your attorney drafts this document.

Step 2: Counterclaims. Your Answer can include counterclaims asking the court for specific relief. If you want primary custody, say so. If you believe you are entitled to alimony, assert it. If you dispute the characterization of marital property, challenge it. Your counterclaims put your position on record from the start.

Step 3: Temporary orders. In contested cases, either party can request temporary orders governing custody, support, and use of marital property while the case proceeds. These orders govern the status quo for the duration of the case, which typically runs 6 to 12 months depending on the county.

Step 4: Discovery. Both parties exchange documents and answer written questions under oath. This is where hidden assets are uncovered, conduct is shown, income is verified, and business interests are valued.

Step 5: Mediation. Fulton County requires mediation before a contested case can be scheduled for trial. Gwinnett and Forsyth Counties generally use mediation as well, though it is not mandatory in either county. It is commonly chosen because it is effective and cost-effective.

Step 6: Trial or settlement. If mediation fails, the case proceeds to trial. A judge hears testimony and evidence from both sides and issues a final order. Most cases settle before trial, but preparing as if trial is coming is what produces good settlements.

Your spouse retained an attorney before serving you. That attorney has been working on this case. If you respond without representation, you are negotiating against a prepared legal professional who has been planning this for weeks or months.

Respondents who attempt to navigate divorce proceedings without an attorney frequently make decisions early in the case that are difficult or impossible to reverse. Signing agreements without legal review, missing procedural deadlines, failing to conduct discovery, accepting unfavorable temporary orders, and agreeing to custody arrangements under pressure are all common patterns that cost unrepresented Respondents significantly.

Call Tannen Law Group today. The free consultation gives you a clear picture of your rights, your options, and what the process looks like for your specific situation, at no cost and with no commitment required.

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Tannen Law Group represents both Petitioners and Respondents in divorce and family law proceedings throughout Fulton, Gwinnett, and Forsyth Counties. We handle contested divorce from both sides regularly. We understand how the case looks from your position and what it takes to protect your rights when you did not initiate the proceedings.

Attorney David Tannen has represented Respondents in high-asset divorces where the other side had a financial head start, in custody cases where the filing parent sought primary custody of children the Respondent had been raising, and in modification cases where the other parent sought to reduce parenting time without legitimate grounds. The Respondent’s position is not a disadvantage. The rights are equal.

Attorney Kevin Markes brings his former criminal trial background to Respondent representation: the discipline of responding to an aggressive filing with organized evidence, clear strategy, and preparation that reflects the seriousness of the proceedings.